What a delicious way to combine Mother’s Day with a delicious Spring Pie! This Heart Shaped Strawberry Pie has a sweet history that’s worth remembering! In 1949 if you had wanted to know about rural life in Iowa, you would have looked to Evelyn Birkby, the newspaper columnist, author, and radio personality who for almost 60 years shared stories of farm life, recipes and tales from her own country kitchen. Evelyn was also one of the famed “Radio Homemakers” who, for 40 years broadcast across a five-state area on radio station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa. (In the 1950s, domesticity dominated the lives of most rural Iowa women. Somewhat isolated on the farm, many relied on the radio to hear a friendly voice. The KMA Radio Homemakers were the ones they turned to for advice and information about cooking, gardening, household hints and beauty tips.) Evelyn Birkby was by far the most popular of the “neighbors on the air,” helping women with everything from menu planning to child rearing. For more than a quarter century Evelyn was a regular monthly columnist for Kitchen-Klatter Magazine, and broadcast on the syndicated Kitchen-Klatter radio program. Birkby is the author of ten books radio homemakers. Her book Up a Country Lane stitches together stories, photographs and recipes from Iowa farm life in the 1940s and 1950s. The Strawberry Pie in Up a Country Lane is reflective of all of the recipes in the cookbook. They are fun, simple, and were often sent in to Evelyn from her adoring radio fans and newspaper readers. While so many recipes for Strawberry Pie use a strawberry gelatin as a thickener, the
natural pureed strawberries in this version really gives this pie a through and through fresh strawberry flavor. I think you Mom will enjoy a little neighborly Iowa hospitality with Evelyn Birkby’s summertime favorite!
fresh strawberries
Strawberry Excuse Cake
Strawberry Excuse Cake
If I create it, then I get to name it, right? So, I’m naming this scrumptious, moist strawberry bake the Strawberry Excuse Cake! Because, beside a delicious ruby red batter made from fresh crushed strawberries and jell-o, The top is, well, over the top! The cake is basically an excuse to incorporate all of your favorite cake toppings! I’ve added things like strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, star fruit and chopped Snickers bars, but you can add whatever your heart desires! Besides achieving a deep, rich cake batter, I also wanted the real flavor of fresh strawberries to come through, so instead of the cup of water required in the cake mix, I replaced the water with strawberry juice. (For this recipe I used V-8 V-Fusion Strawberry Banana Juice) This optional, but I also added several tablespoons of strawberry liqueur to the batter, which gave the cake another boost of berry! Buttercream or a white icing goes beautifully with this strawberry cake and all of the delicious topping! Need an excuse to make dessert this week? This one takes the cake!